The House of Representatives passed a $26 billion measure Tuesday afternoon to help avoid teacher and emergency-responder layoffs. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/File)

Updated at 6:15 p.m.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law a $26 billion measure to help avoid teacher layoffs - a move Democrats claim is necessary in the wake of state and local government cutbacks.

The House gave final approval earlier Tuesday to the bill, which had already passed the Senate.

The measure, which passed the House on a largely party-line 247-to-161 vote, is designed to save the jobs of approximately 160,000 teachers across the country, as well as create and save positions for police officers, firefighters and nurses, according to Democratic leaders.

soundoff(108 Responses)

GI Joe

Republicans hate teachers. If people get an education, they won't believe all the "birther", "death panel", "raising your taxes" lies that they are feeding everybody EVEN NOW in their town hall meetings.

Vote NO to the Party of NO in NOvember.

August 10, 2010 04:56 pm at 4:56 pm |

lforlegend

Dadgum re'Publican fools are disgusting. They won't dump and won't get off the pot

August 10, 2010 04:56 pm at 4:56 pm |

sammieb51

Good news. Now the GOP can WHINE all the way home and when they stump, they can say how they support the little guys. How many times did Boehner play golf last year– 119? Wow – Lucky guy to have so much time and money on his hands when the rest of us are sucking wind.

August 10, 2010 04:56 pm at 4:56 pm |

Smith in Oregon

Republican's overwhelmingly voted lock-step to lay off mass numbers of teachers, police, fire and emergency service employees across America. Thankfully majority party Democratic lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to help keep those same teachers, police officers, fire and emergency service employee's employed.

With the Republican Potty'ticians Mitch McConnell and John Boehner's frequent mantra of Jobs, Jobs, Jobs there is clear evidence today the Republican Potty'ticians are the very ones creating the job losses and the very ones trying to prevent job creation during a time when millions of American's are jobless.

August 10, 2010 05:02 pm at 5:02 pm |

ddt

Republicans for so long have claimed that they are the best in our naitonal security, Really? The started wars they couldn't win, I mean Iraq and a Afaghanistan, our soldiers are still there. Now they don't want to pay policemen who work their hearts out to protect the American people. It does not surprise me that they hate Teachers. Look what Sarah Palin did to her daughter Bristo. She gave her advise to go out and have a child instead of advising to finish school first. Look the way they treated Allena Kagan. The have no respect to educated people all they care about in making money for their kids and friends the "corporations". I can't believe there people in America today who support the TEAT party Republican.

August 10, 2010 05:03 pm at 5:03 pm |

ysidero

Of course, to Boehner and Co. the 160,000 layoffs this money will prevent is a "union handout", but cutting taxes for the upper 2% is going to "grow the economy and create jobs." For Boehner to claim to speak for the American people would be laughable if it wasn't so tragic for the 98% who aren't his country-club chums.

They keep saying teacher union hand our. Way about the police unions , firefighters union, first response and there unions . Gop gtf out of here. You yell about teachers but were very quiet on the other recipients of this money . Let's lay off the teachers in your districts and states. Then see How fast the classrooms get over crowded. If we don't have money for student education then we don't have it for border security.

Prove it, just prove it, and you'll have made your name between your electorate. Better yet, prove that the bill will save cops, firefighters and nurses' jobs... do that.
If you can.

August 10, 2010 05:05 pm at 5:05 pm |

JES

Where in the hell is the money coming from to pay for all those union jobs.

You have to stop spending what you don't have that's just basic 101.

August 10, 2010 05:07 pm at 5:07 pm |

logical74

Well now this is confusing. One the one hand, the Obama Administration wants to save teachers. On the other, they are offering millions of dollars in federal incentives to restructure schools in a way that involves firing the entire staff. This involves replacing veteran teachers with novice ones who have had no more than one year of training by private organizations whose CEOs, along with charter school executives are making upwards of $400,000/year. If he had any respect for teachers at all, he would immediately stop this privatization nonsense that studies have shown are not producing academic gains, are increasing educational disparities, causing safety issues, and deprofessionalize teaching.

August 10, 2010 05:08 pm at 5:08 pm |

Four and The Door

The Democrats had better spend while they can because we are going to put some severe restrictions on their checkbook in November. This administration and congress does not know the meaning of fiscal management. It's so much easier to just borrow and spend another $25 billion than to actually manage what we have.

August 10, 2010 05:08 pm at 5:08 pm |

Chessnutz of Liverpool NY

When will congress pass a bill to protect my job? Who is going to pay for all of this debt?

August 10, 2010 05:10 pm at 5:10 pm |

Marcus

I don't wish any harm to happen to anyone (save Osama Bin Laden and his gang of...), but..., let's be honest:
Say that the Democrats are not lying and that the bill will save the jobs of cops, nurses and firefighters all over the country. So these people will keep on working and do their best to save/protect the lives of people they (mostly) don't know nor never heard of...
That's their jobs, that's what they do and that's what they will keep on doing thanks to the bill.
Right?
And of course, among the lives that will be helped/saved in the future will be those of who will bash and trash this bill (if/when unfortunately comes their hour of need) right about now...
Wouldn't THAT be a definition of 'irony'?

August 10, 2010 05:11 pm at 5:11 pm |

Steph

I expect those who have criticized this bill to refuse to take the money for their states...no? I'm not surprised...the obstructionists cashed those stimulus checks too. There are some pretty nifty stimulus funded projectscurrently underway in Mississippi, Texas, Arizona (and all the other red states).

August 10, 2010 05:14 pm at 5:14 pm |

JES

By the way GI Joe it has nothin to do with the Republicans hating teachers because they don't it's where in the hell s the money going to come from. That's right out of our grandchildrens pockets. The DEM's dont care they can spend money better than anyone else in the world except their own

August 10, 2010 05:14 pm at 5:14 pm |

Shari from Madison WI

I'm happy about this because i admire teachers , the fire department and the police department. I knew the Repugnant replublicans, the party of no who only vote for things that will profit the rich and powerful while ignoring the common worker would not want this because they would rather have the money go to Corporate CEO's and to their own pockets!

August 10, 2010 05:15 pm at 5:15 pm |

Dale

PEOPLE PLEASE

Look at our students..... Look at their grades and knowledge. Get the liberal union workers out of our school systems and start teaching our kids how to get along in a REAL WORLD.

Some of these comments make me sick. It must be teachers making these comments. I don't want to pay for your Viagra.

August 10, 2010 05:16 pm at 5:16 pm |

C Smith

And the orange one immediately began to spit out falsehoods. I also hope November comes soon. So the Republicans can stand there with confused looks on their faces when the see the public didn't fall for their same old tricks again.

August 10, 2010 05:17 pm at 5:17 pm |

Steph

JES, if we didn't spend BILLIONS fighting in Iraq (remember, the story about the people who were going to greet us as liberators and promptly hand over all those hidden WMD's) we could afford to pay teachers, cops and fire fighters right here at home!

August 10, 2010 05:19 pm at 5:19 pm |

False conspiracy fears are GOP Taliban tactics

I think we are to a point that when republicans go after school school children and only care about the wealthiest 2% of the population and big corporations, they are no longer a viable political party. Let them apologize to BP, obstruct every job creation bill, add to the debt with their special unfunded wars and unfunded government programs they passed during their lame duck sessions. How does one explain to our future generations that lying republicans are making us a third world country?

August 10, 2010 05:20 pm at 5:20 pm |

If you want something ruined let a democratic community organizer handle it

So, let me get this straight, if you are a member of a communist union, Obumma throws you a life vest to keep you from getting laid off. If you are a non-union worker who was laid off, then you swim with the sharks...

And the taxpayers fund this non-sense.

Hmmmm

August 10, 2010 05:20 pm at 5:20 pm |

Sheila

Keeping teachers in their jobs, working in classrooms across the country, teaching children, and earning their pay can hardly be categorized as a "handout to the teachers union." Come election day, I hope every voter who has now or ever had a child in school will remember which party voted to save these jobs and which party would have preferred to throw 160,000 teachers and thousands of other public servants into the ranks of the unemployed.

August 10, 2010 05:22 pm at 5:22 pm |

False conspiracy fears are GOP Taliban tactics

Actually JES, it is about republicans hating all workers, not just teachers, police, and firemen. Their record has been clear since Reagan fired the air traffic controllers.

August 10, 2010 05:23 pm at 5:23 pm |

yoyolite

For those people wondering where the money is coming from, the bill is actually already paid. As for voting in the Repugs in November, we shall see. If the repugs get back in power, the original ones that tanked the economy, we will be in a depression. The repugs solution is to give tax cut to the rich. Yeah right, that will definitely improve the economy and create jobs.

August 10, 2010 05:24 pm at 5:24 pm |

Educate

Educate yourselves, people. This isn't going to add to the debt that you've all become so concerned about since a Democrat is the president. Weird that none of you seemed to care before that. A corporate tax loophole is closed with this bill and that's how it's paid for.